Times Square car bomb: suspect carried out dry run

Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomb suspect, scouted the bustling New York
district in the same vehicle days before the bomb was left, according to a
law enforcement official.

Faisal Shahzad was arrested at a New York airport on charges that he drove a bomb-laden SUV meant to cause a fireball in Times SquarePhoto: AP

2:13PM BST 06 May 2010

Mr Shahzad, now in custody on terrorism and weapons charges, drove a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder to New York City's landmark Times Square from Connecticut on April 28, apparently to figure out where would be the best place to leave it later, the official said.

He then returned April 30 to drop off a black Isuzu, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation.

The official said Mr Shahzad went back on Saturday and left the sport utility vehicle loaded with firecrackers, gasoline and propane, enough to likely create a fireball and kill nearby tourists and Broadway theatregoers had it gone off successfully.

Mr Shahzad, 30, admitted to rigging the Pathfinder with a crude bomb based on explosives training he received in Pakistan, authorities say. He was pulled off a plane on Monday headed for Dubai and has been co-operating with investigators. For a second day Wednesday, he had yet to appear in Manhattan federal court.

Kifyat Ali, a cousin of Mr Shahzad's father, has called the arrest "a conspiracy."

Shahzad is believed to have been working alone when he began preparing the attack, almost immediately after returning in February from his native country, authorities said. They said they have yet to find a wider link to extremist groups or to pin down a motive.

"It appears from some of his other activities that March is when he decided to put this plan in motion," New York police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

In leaving Times Square on Saturday, he discovered he left a chain of 20 keys including those to the getaway car and his home in Connecticut in the Pathfinder, and had to take public transit, the official said.

Investigators had already started searching for suspects, when he returned to the scene on Sunday with a second set of keys to pick up the Isuzu, parked about eight blocks from the car bomb site, the official said.

Mr Kelly told a Senate panel that Mr Shahzad bought a gun in March that was found in his Isuzu at John F. Kennedy International Airport, suggesting that he was moving ahead on the bombing plot shortly after returning from Pakistan.

Pakistan Ambassador Husain Haqqani said that an investigation into Shahzad's links to Pakistan was ongoing. He said an unspecified number of people had been questioned but no one has been arrested or detained in Pakistan.

Mr Haqqani said that no connection had emerged between Qari Hussain Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban's chief bomb maker who in charge of recruiting suicide bombers.

"I think it's premature to start identifying groups and individuals with whom he might have trained," he said.

Mr Haqqani added that it was unlikely that Mr Shahzad or anyone could find a bomb-making facility in the south Waziristan region because that region is now controlled by the Pakistani Army. Mr Shahzad said he was trained in the region, authorities say.

US officials have also been unable to verify whether Mr Shahzad trained to make bombs at a terrorist camp in Pakistan.

Mr Shahzad had previously lived in Shelton, Connecticut, but got a low-rent apartment in nearby Bridgeport when he returned from Pakistan. His wife and children apparently did not return with him.

Police recovered surveillance video of Mr Shahzad at Times Square moments after the attack, and he's seen in other video in Pennsylvania buying fireworks.